


Jobs to do

by StrictlyNoFrills



Category: Tomb Raider (Movie 2018)
Genre: F/M, Ficlet, Gen, Oneshot, might draw inspiration from this for a modern fili/lady bilbo au, remembered this old thing was just sitting on my harddrive not doing anybody any good, there's jobs to do
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:01:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22140712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrictlyNoFrills/pseuds/StrictlyNoFrills
Summary: Her job is only beginning, and she doesn'tneedhis help, but shewantsit.
Relationships: Lara Croft & Lu Ren, Lara Croft/Lu Ren
Comments: 9
Kudos: 47





	Jobs to do

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this thing during the period of years when I was on hiatus from fandom, but I'd still have the occasional need to write (i.e. I'd watch or read something that left me feeling raw or inspired and I had to get it out on paper or typed up right that second). I highly doubt I'll continue this, but as I said in the tags, I may use it as inspiration for a modern or even Third Age AU with Lady Bilbo going off to find out what's happened to her overly adventurous mother and winding up teaming up with a Prince Fili disguised as an everyday bodyguard for inexperienced travelers who don't know better than to stay the forge OUT of the big, wide, dangerous world.

They’re outside the airport, Lara holding out the money that managed to survive the whole trip by virtue of being kept on the inside of her boot. As Lu Ren reaches out to grasp it from the other end, Lara pulls back slightly. 

  
“Come with me.”

  
“What?” he asks warily.

  
“Come with me. To England.”

  
“And do what? Sight-see? Have a little vacation before coming back home and starting over? Drink some tea, have some – what do you call them over there? Biscuits?” His voice is incredulous, with just the smallest hint of a bite to it.

  
It’s the bite that sparks a bit of hurt in Lara’s eyes, and Lu Ren feels his heart clench at the sight of it, but honestly, this girl. What does she really think is going to happen?

  
“No. I meant come with me to stay.” She sounds less confident now, more wary, but her hand is still holding on to the money that first tied them together.

  
“What would I do in England, Lara? I’m a fisherman, not a computer programmer or a shop owner. I’ve got no place there.”

  
“You do, though. You and I – we both lost our fathers to that island. We both risked our lives for each other. We’re connected, Lu. We’re supposed to stay together. I know it.” Her eyes are big and wide in her narrow face, her mouth parted in a hopeful moue.

  
He hesitates, and she seizes onto his moment of weakness.

  
“Look, my dad left me an estate. A big one. And it needs security. And the only one I trust now to have my back – really trust – is you. So, it really only makes sense for you to come back and be my head of security.”

  
“Security?”

  
“On paper, yes. But before he died, my dad told me there were jobs to do, which means that all of this is still not over. You’re smart, Lu Ren. You see things that I don’t see, and when you see an opening, you take it. I don’t need you. I don’t need anyone. But I do want you. So, will you please come back with me?”

  
“I can’t work for you, Lara.”

  
“Well, you wouldn’t really be working for me. You’d be working with me. We’d just have to have something we could put down to get you a work visa, and then work towards getting you dual citizenship, if you wanted it.”

  
“No, Lara, I can’t have a professional relationship with you. Not anymore.”

  
Her hurt grows a little deeper. “Why are you fighting this so hard? Can’t you feel it?”

  
“Of course, I can feel it. But I feel this, too.” He leans down and catches her chapped lips with his own in a swift, hard kiss, and then straightens, admiring the slight flush to her tanned, scratched up cheeks. She’s a beautiful mess.

  
She swallows roughly and then tells him, “We can work on that, as well. We’ll just have to agree not to muck things up, won’t we? And if we do, we’ll sort it out. We’ll figure out how to stay partners, still. Alright?”

  
He stares at her as he feels again the phantom pressure of her lips against his own and tries to debate with himself over a battle that he has already lost, and then he looks down at the stack of bills still in their hands. “I’m still taking this.”

  
When he looks back up, she grins. It’s a fierce, triumphant sort of joy that echoes in his own chest, coupled with determination. He knows he will never be able to keep this girl – this woman – out of trouble, but he likes dangerous women, and he especially likes this one. If he can’t keep her out of trouble, he may as well join her. After all, as her father said, there’s jobs to do. He can feel the almost breathless quality in the air, as though the world is waiting for the next challenge the two of them will face.

  
“I promised I would give it to you, didn’t I?” she asks archly.

  
“You did.”

  
“Well, I’m a Croft. And Crofts always keep their promises.”

  
She starts walking backwards, towards the terminal, her fingers continuing to hold tight, and he follows. “Then I guess I really do have to come with you, since you seem to be having trouble letting go.”

  
“I’m told it’s a failing of mine.”

  
“Really? I thought it was one of your strengths.” After all, her ability to cling to things is one of the main reasons she is still here.

  
Eventually, Lu Ren has to put the money in his pocket, as it would be difficult to board the plane otherwise.

  
Although neither of them has ever been the hand-holding type before, once they are situated, Lara takes his hand in her own and holds on until it’s time to disembark. She really doesn’t like to let things go.

  
Lu Ren’s okay with that.


End file.
